There were no signs of professional suits, high heels or briefcases Saturday at the Clovis Invitational, rather a collection of tank tops, spandex shorts and running shoes. But the members of the Oak Park High girls’ cross country team made it clear they were in Fresno for a business trip, not a weekend getaway.

And for most of the Eagles, it was unfinished business.

Following a seven-year run of top-three finishes at the state meet – including three consecutive Div. IV titles from 2001-03 – Oak Park finished 12th in Div. III last season. Even Melissa Skiba’s runner-up effort, the best performance by a female runner in program history, wasn’t enough to elevate a group lacking big-meet experience.

The Eagles returned Saturday to the 5,000-meter course at Woodward Park and demonstrated just how far they’ve come in the past 11 months.

Skiba’s victory in the small-school race in 17 minutes, 56 seconds, was supported by Kaycee Holcomb, Jessica Reints, Brittany Stalzer, Candace Matsunaga, Meira Prescher and Taelor Young all finishing in the top 26, leading the Eagles to a 57-131 triumph over Tri-Valley League rival La Reina of Thousand Oaks, the defending Div.IV state champion.

It was another sign that Oak Park – not just Skiba – could be a contender for the Div. III state title when it returns Nov. 28 to Woodward Park.

“This was the first testing ground and there’s so much work still to do, but I was very pleased with the results,” Oak Park coach Kevin Smith said. “I told the kids we came here to do work and the fun starts in the van on the ride home.”

The ride home from Fresno last year was an unfamiliar one for Oak Park.

Not only did Skiba lose her first race of the season – finishing second to Our Lady of Peace of San Diego’s Sammy Silva by a six-second margin – but the Eagles were relegated to spectators when it came time for the awards ceremony under the prestigious white tent at Woodward Park, as only the top 10 individuals and top three teams in each division are recognized.

“We want to prove we are better than last year,” said Holcomb, who finished third Saturday in 19:05, a 37-second improvement from last year.

“It was a learning experience and it made us stronger and helped us come together as a team. (Saturday) was a good day for all of us, but there’s always room for improvement. We don’t want to be peaking right now. We’re still working our way up the ladder.”

With Corona del Mar of Newport Beach and Orange Lutheran the top two returning teams in Div. III, questions surfaced on Internet sites and message boards in the days leading up to the Clovis Invitational about where Oak Park fit among the elite programs in the division.

The Eagles answered them in convincing fashion, as Holcomb, Matsunaga, Reints and Stalzer improved their times from last year’s state meet by an average of 35 seconds, with Prescher and Young establishing a strong foundation for a return trip in seven weeks.

“After last year we wanted to come back and do well because we were all pretty new to varsity and now we have more experience,” Reints said. “We’ve all worked really hard and I think we’ve showed we’ve improved a lot. Now, we just want to keep our eyes on our goals.”

“Last year was disappointing and that pushes me to want to do better this season,” Skiba said. “All the girls have been working so hard. There’s competition for the top seven spots and the girls are pushing each other because everyone wants it really badly. We’re all motivated to do well.”

Holcomb, who balanced running cross country in the past with playing club and high school soccer, has shown her commitment by only focusing on one sport this year.

“This is my thing now,” the junior said. “I feel like this is where I belong.”

The presence of Skiba, Reints, Holcomb, Matsunaga and Prescher has helped accelerate the learning curve of Young, who, despite being a junior, is a relative newcomer to the sport.

“Taelor is so innocent and na ve about the sport, but she has this internal competitive spirit about her,” Smith said. “We’re just going to let the whole process unfold because she’s got such great teammates around her and such a strong structure of support.”

But the structure Reints is most focused on rebuilding is that of Oak Park’s impressive tradition at the state meet. Along with seniors Prescher and Skiba, Reints won’t be satisfied unless all of the Eagles are standing under the white tent at Woodward Park on Thanksgiving weekend.

“We push ourselves as much as we can because we know Skiba is that good and we don’t want to let her down,” Reints said. “We want to send a message to the underclassmen that you wear (the Oak Park) shirt with pride. People always come up to us and want to know where Oak Park is. If they don’t (before the race), then hopefully they will by the end of the day.”

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